POLYMER ENGINEERING FOCUSING ON DRUG/GENE DELIVERY AND TISSUE ENGINEERING

Gene therapy represents a versatile approach for treating genetic disorders by manipulating cell functions. Research at the interface of biomaterials, gene therapy, and drug delivery has identified several design parameters for the non-viral vectors to perform optimum delivery of biologically active material into cells. Progress has been made towards achieving gene delivery, though the design principles for the materials and non-viral vectors that produce efficient delivery require further development. In this paper we summarize our contribution in design and preparation of efficient non-viral vectors by approaching two different strategies: preparation of core-like PEI-based structures and Dynamic Constitutional Frameworks as non-viral vectors. Our efforts resulted in yielding of architectures able to efficiently bind oligonucleotides of different length and even to transfect genetic materials into cells. Both strategies have a great potential in preparation of efficient and even selective gene carriers, and consistent work is being further carried out in our group.